Page 181 - RusRPTMay21

· Law to pre-install Russian apps – no impact so far, as the law covers new devices, but should support Yandex’s presence on iOS in the L-T
· Double tax treaty cancellation risk (with Netherlands) – no clarity for now, but in any case – no need for cash upstream in near future, hence no cash impact.
FAS opens case against Yandex. According to Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), YNDX favors its own services in its search results, which could lead to discriminatory conditions. The FAS case follows the regulator’s warning to YNDX at the end of February, to which YNDX did not comply, according to the FAS. YNDX continues to disagree with the regulator’s charges and is ready to defend its position. We see the news as moderately negative for YNDX, as (1) there is a risk of a fine (though it should be limited to around 4% of the company’s total revenue in the worst-case scenario, on our estimates); (2) regulatory attention to the sector could increase; and (3) the headline risks will remain, as the dispute could take time to resolve. That said, we think the market overreacted a bit to the news (YNDX’s share price lost 4.8%on 13April).
OZON announced that it had agreed to acquire 100% of the charter capital of Oney Bank from Sovcombank on April 12. According to OZON, the transaction is payable in cash and should not exceed $10mn (c. RUB 775mn). The deal should be subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Russia and other customary conditions. OZON believes the acquisition will provide it with the necessary licenses to enhance its own financial services (e.g. faster payments with lower commissions), as well as support the further growth of its FinTech arm. At the same time, OZON plans to continue cooperating with other banks and FinTech companies to finance its loan book and develop new products. Oney Bank is a former subsidiary of Oney Bank SA, which was founded in 1983 in France with Auchan Group as its main shareholder. Sovcombank acquired 100% of Oney Bank LLC’s charter capital from Auchan Group in January.
Swedish fintech player Digital Alliance AB and Russia’s QIWI Group have launched a new solution based on advanced SoftPOS technology. Initially launched in Russia under the brand ‘tap2go,’ the service will be made available on other markets in the course of 2021. The new service enables end users to accept card payments directly on their mobile devices, without the need for having card acceptance hardware. Users can use contactless cards as well as mobile payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay to buy goods and services. As part of the pilot launch, the service is available to a random sample of QIWI Wallet users. In two months, it will become available to all QIWI wallet users.
Wildberries, a large international online retailer, announces the launch of sales in the USA market. America became the company's 14th country of
181 RUSSIA Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com